Was Baby Archie named after Meghan’s pet cat?

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s newborn baby Archie may have been named after her pet cat.

Friends of the Duchess of Sussex claim the moniker of the royal couple’s baby, whose full name is Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, could be a reference to her former furry friend, who she used to feed frozen grapes after her mother Doria Ragland rescued the feline.

A former close friend told The Sun newspaper: "Doria rescued Archie and he became an important part of the household. Meghan loved playing with him and she was always talking about him to her friends.

"It’s no surprise she named her new baby Archie. She loved that cat."

Meghan’s moggy, who is thought to have died while she was at college in Illinois, is said to have been named after a comic book character, flame-haired teen Archie Andrews, who she used to read about in comics collected with her father Thomas Markle.

The pal said: "She would spend her weekends going to vintage stores to buy the comics.

"This could be a little nod to her dad. It was him who instilled that hobby into her, that was their activity together. He would drive her around and also surprise her with vintage volumes. She had at least 100. This may be a way to reach out to her dad, even after all that’s happened."

The comics have since been brought to life in teen drama TV series ‘Riverdale’, which appears on Netflix.

Following the birth of Harry and Meghan’s first child on Monday (06.05.19), the streaming service used their social media accounts to poke fun at the news of the baby’s name because of Riverdale’s lead character, the red-haired Archie Andrews.

They shared a photo of Meghan and Harry holding their son, but with the face of ‘Riverdale’ star K.J. Apa photoshopped over the baby.

They captioned the post: "and y’all thought you were the biggest Riverdale stans. Welcome royal baby Archie, earl of Riverdale.(sic)"

K.J.’s co-star, Kiernan Shipka, also couldn’t resist a quit, sharing an Instagram photo of herself and her pal, which she captioned: "me & the royal baby. congrats meghan & harry! (sic)"